Vessel
by f3296
Summary: The Turtles stumble into something they really shouldn't have, a satanic cult with an agenda. Now, it has followed them home, and they may have to pay the ultimate price; their little brothers life.
1. Chapter 1

_Vessel_

New York City shimmered in the light of the moon, dancing along side with the stars. It gleamed with life and prosperity it seemed. All was well, until this night.

The brothers crossed the rooftops with some haste with an update on a break in at an abandoned warehouse across town. Leo stopped immediately, waiting for his brothers to follow. Luckily he didn't have to wait long as each of them came in short time.

"Don, where's the warehouse?" He asked. Donnie quickly pulled out his tracker, watching as the little light glowed.

"We're getting close. Just a few more blocks and we should be good." Donnie said. Raph gruffed, side stepping a bit with impatience.

"So what exactly is this? Foot? Purple dragons what?"

"Not sure. There was just Intel speaking about recent break ins on warehouses and weird power outages. Noticeable break ins are not normally done by the Foot and the purple dragons have no reason to try and break into something and not go unnoticed." Donnie explained.

"So we might be dealing with someone new." Leo spoke. "So we have to stay vigilant at all costs. We don't know who were dealing with."

"Hey at least were getting some change." Mikey spoke up, taking a seat on the side of the roof. "Lets be honest the same run around with the foot and the purple dragons can get boring."

"Yes but that's something were familiar with. This could be something we may not be prepared for so be vigilant." Leo reprimanded.

"Geez Leo relax. Its probably just some kids throw'n raves in the warehouses." Raph tried to soothe.

"I'm just saying don't get too relaxed. Now how about we start heading over there. Just a couple of blocks right?"

* * *

They made there way across town up to the abandoned warehouse that barely stood over the years of weather and tarnish. They made it up to the rooftop where the glass was opened and they were able to look inside. Each crouched enough to see inside to notice its empty flare but the strange blue glow of the illuminating lights that flooded from the floors and walls.

"Well I understand why the powers been going out." Donnie mentioned taking into account the heat he could feel from the lights.

"Well maybe I was right. Maybe just a bunch of kids having a rave." Raph said with a smirk. Leo narrowed his eyes Leaning in closer, trying to get a better look of the place.

"There's no music. Do you guys see the symbol on the floor there?" All four leaned in closer to see the lines narrowing around each other, forming a shape. A star. Mikey plopped down on his stomach, resting his head on his arms and sighed.

"I don't know guys, maybe we just walked in on a human sacrifice." He said with a giggle.

"Mikey, you might not be too far off from that." Leo said just as the far doors opened.

About a dozen people walked out, wearing long black robes that covered their bodies and faces. Each walked around the star and stood there in silence.

"Woah, okay is this like some kind of cult?" Raph asked.

"I'm not sure. They're dressed as but something isn't right about it." Donnie mentioned. As they talked Mikey kept a close eye on the group down below and his eyes grew wide.

"Guys."

"It doesn't matter we'll watch and observe and see what they do. A gathering isn't something to stop." Leo said.

"Uh, guys." Mikey spoke a little louder, sitting up slightly.

"They broke into the warehouse didn't they? What happens if they start slitting pigs throats?" Raph rebuttled.

"That's very stereotypical there Raph. That actually isn't a normal cult action-"  
 _"Guys!"_ Mikey yelled, catching his older brothers attention. "There's kids." They all were silent then instantly, they all turned to look down at the floor. Seeing five small children being lead through the room, each being set to stand at the edge of each side of the star. The children, covered by the dark cloak except for their heads. Three boys and two girls and no older than twelve years old.

"what the hell…" Raph whispered.

"Leo?" Donnie asked hesitantly. Before Leo could respond with anything another young boy appeared, hand in hand with a man, dressed differently from the others. His hood was down, an upside down cross, tattooed on his forehead.

"oh god.." Donnie whispered. Mikey took a breath, feeling a shiver run down his spine.

"Donnie, who are these guys?" He asked attentively.

"My guess, a satanic cult."

They watched at the little boy was lead to the middle of the cross, where all the lines met. The man released the boys hand and walked towards the front of the star. The man pulled out a pair of black gloves and slipped them on. He relaxed his form slightly, bringing his arms out to the sides in an almost embrace.

"The time has come, to bring our master, our savior home. Home from his banishment! He will guide us! He will give us the strength! The freedom! His will is soon to be _ours!_ " He preached.

 _"In Nomine Dei Nostri Satanas, Luciferi Excelsi."_ They all chanted.

"In the name of Satan, Ruler of the earth, True god!" The man spoke again. "in Thine own Image and Likeliness, I invite the forces of Darkness to bestow their infernal power upon me!"

"Guys I don't like this." Raph spoke up. Mikey cringe slightly, feeling a weird twist in his stomach from the mans chanting. It made him want to vomit as a strange twist of fear entered his bones.

Suddenly, from the corners of the room, blasted large pockets of fire, leading down the lines to reach the star, reaching the children that stood on top of it.

"Great god, we ask of you to take our gifts, beseech us and grant us with your presence! Your vision once more!"

Then, the fire started to move, beginning to engulf all that was in its path. The turtles didn't think twice as they jumped into the warehouse and quickly went after the children. Raphael and Leonardo grabbed two each and Donnie grabbed the one on the far right. Michelangelo grabbed the boy who stood in the middle and jumped back up on the railings.

 _"What?!"_ The man screamed, causing the rest of people to stumble where they stood. Suddenly, the fire lost control of itself, falling off of the tracks and onto the debris of the warehouse. The flames began to grow and the people began to run out of the building.

Mikey stayed for a bit, watching the flames increase in size. He was almost mesmerized by the colors and the way that they danced in front of his eyes he had almost forgot about the boy he had in hand. He looked to his side to see the bright blue eyed kid looking up at him, eyes soulless and piercing his very being.

"Uh, hey kid, you okay?" He asked. He didn't get an answer. Mikey felt that strange cringe feeling again but it soon left once the heat of the flames hit his face.

"Well, I guess its time to go." He said getting ready to jump with the kid in hand, not prepared for him to grab down on the rail they stood on, making Mikey jolt back.

"What?" Mikey looked to see the boy was holding the rail with one hand and his arm in the other, crouched in an unnatural position.

"Kid we have to go!" He yelled trying to get out of the kids hold but found it to be useless. The child having unconditional strength.

"Kid!" Mikey tried to yell again, seeing the flames beginning to reach the top of the ceiling.

"Vessel." The child whispered, voiced hoarse and deep.

" _Wha-ACK!_ " Mikey Yelped as the kid's mouth attached itself to his arm, biting down with all of his might. Mikey was so distraught from the heat of the flames, the pressure of getting out and the intense presence the kid was giving off his mind swirled. Now, a bite added, he lost his footing all together on the railing and fell along with the child. Michelangelo hit the ground hard, luckily for his shell took most of the impact of his fall.

He groaned feeling the swirling of his mind, trying to refocus his vision. He looked above to see the orange and red flooding the room. Once he realized what was happening, he quickly twisted and saw the kid was not too far from him, head twisted unnaturally to the side.

 _Oh no._

Mikey quickly got to his feet, stumbling over to the boy. He froze instantly, seeing the blood coming from his head and his eyes hooded. The boy was dead. Mikey felt the wave of an icey chill. His body shook. He let a child die. He couldn't speak, he couldn't move. He barely noticed Raph coming to his side, shaking him, trying to get him to move.

"Mikey lets go!" He yelled. Mikey didn't respond, eyes locked on the corpse that laid on the floor.

Mikey felt his body being tugged. He refused to move. He needed to absorbed every detail of this scene. Where the blood pooled, how his hair fell into place, where his hands curled in a lifeless hold. Mikey needed to feel pain. The pain of failing a child he was supposed to save.

Before he knew it both Leo and Raph came and grabbed him, dragged him out of the burning building, never looking back. Mikey watched, as the burning building grew smaller. He looked down to see the man come out, side of his face now seared from the flames. He looked up, met eyes with the young turtle and for a grim second, a smiled formed on the mans face.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Wow hi guys! Its been a while since I've written a new story! But this one has been pooling for a bit so I thought I would finally write it out! Hope you all love some scary stories ) Till next time! -F**_


	2. Dead Kid Walking

Dead Kid Walking

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The building burned in the distance, the smoke rising above the skies in a gleam of desperation for oxygen as if it was truly living. The turtles, after dropping the children off by the next building to safety, quickly ran into the shadows and blocks away from the fire, but close enough they could still see it.

 _"Waitwaitwaitwaitwait!_ The kid! _The kid!_ We have to go back! We have to!" Mikey screamed still being dragged away by Leo and Raph. Donnie stood there finishing getting off the phone with 911 and giving the location of the children so they would be picked up. He looked up to see his brothers struggling with Mikey and felt a twinge of guilt. He felt bad for Mikey since he was the youngest and in a sense the most innocent; things like accidental death are hard for him to accept.

"Mikey that's enough! We can't go back!" Leo yelled, trying to get ahold of his brothers moving limbs.

"The kid! We have to get the kid we didn't get him out!" Mikey screeched trying to claw his way out of his brothers hold. Finally Raphael had enough and used all of his strength to move Mikey so that he was facing him eye to eye.

"The kids dead Mikey! Aint nothing you can do about it! We aint going back and that's final!" He yelled. He could feel Mikey shake under his hands. His baby blues quickly filling with unshed tears. He just stared at him for a bit before he hiccupped.

"I killed him." He said quietly. Raph was taken back.

"What? No Mikey you didn't kill him. He fell."  
"He fell because I wasn't paying attention. I wasn't focused I freaked out I didn't know what to do! He bit me and I just lost it! I just I-I-I-" His body was flipped back around and he was faced with Leo once more, having both his hands placed on his face.

"Mikey listen to me. This was not your fault okay? Things happen and sometimes people die. You tried to save him. This isn't on you. Alright?" Leo stared his brother intently, making sure he got the message. Mikey stared back, calming his breath. After he took a couple more gulps of air, he nodded in agreement. Leo nodded in return. "Now you said he bit you?" Leo asked. Mikey took a huge breath before blowing it out.

"Y-yeah."

"Did he say anything to you?" Donnie asked, confused of the kids aggression towards Mikey.

"Yeah he uh, said something like uh.." Mikey ran his hand over his head, the sight of crimson catching Leos eyes. He grabbed Mikey's arm and grimaced.

"Ugh!" Raph cringed. Donnie came over and inspected the wound.

"Mikey, you said the kid did this to you?" Donnie asked. His arm almost torn, like an animal bit into his flesh. It was mangled and raw as if the child was trying to tear into him. Donnie was stunned that a child could do such damage especially to their thicker skin.

Mikey looked down at his arm for the first time and saw the reason his brothers were so shocked. His adrenaline was starting to come down and he started to realize he lost a lot of blood.

His eyes drooped slightly and he fell awkwardly to the side, being caught by Raph.

"Woah bud. Alright you'll be okay." Raph tried to soothe trying to get him to stand up. Mikey shook his head, feeling it become light.

"Woah." Mikey said, grabbing his arm in a loose hold.

"Lets head home so Donnie can get that patched up." Leo said, wrapping an arm around Mikey's waist to help him move before heading back to the lair.

* * *

"Ow!" Mikey wined as he watched Donnie clean his wound.

"Well If you would stop moving this wouldn't hurt as bad." Donnie reprimanded, taking the tweezers and pulling back the damaged tissue. Donnie was still in shock that a little boy could do this type of damage. Their skin was tougher than most, even bullets have a harder time getting through their skin. For a kid, no older than ten to break through the skin.

Mikey pouted, cringed and flinching back every time Donnie moved his skin around.

"And you spoke of a child did this?" Master Splinter said, gaining a dark feeling in his bones.

"Yeah, he looked at me and said something. Then he bit me out of no where." Mikey explained, face drooping as the memory of the kid made him feel the swarm of guilt. Splinter took note and placed a hand on his sons should and squeezed slightly.

"Michelangelo, do not sit in regret for things you cannot change. Though his death was a tragedy, you did everything you could to stop it. You cannot change it, only grow from it." He tried to soothe whether or not it would work. Mikey merely looked at him and nodded in understanding. The guilty feeling still didn't go away.

Donnie finished putting some ointment on and wrapping it in a bandage. He reached over to the cabinet and pulled out some pain killers.

"Alright take a couple of these and it should relieve you of some of the pain. It will probably make you drowsy though." He explained. Mikey took the medication and got up from his seat, wobbling slightly.

"Mikey how about you just sit on the couch and me and Donnie will get you some pizza." Leo offered. Suddenly, Mikey perked up.

"I mean if you're buying." He said slyly. Leo smirked bopping him on the head.

"Alright. Well be right back." He said.

"I will be retired to my room by the time you get back so goodnight." Master Splinter said as he walked out of the room gaining the goodnights of all his sons.

"well you guys are gonna go out I'm gonna put on the fight." Raph said walking out. Mikey smiled before following his brother out, wanting to see the fight as well.

* * *

An hour or so past and Donnie wasn't kidding when he said the medication would make Mikey feel sleepy. Sitting on the couch watching the pre recorded fight was causing his eyes to droop. He could hear Raphael snoring in the background and the faint noise of the grunts coming from the TV. He closed his eyes, listening to his surroundings, familiarizing himself with what was happening. The sounds beginning to dim out. Then, all became silent.

A high pitched scream entered his mind and his eyes shot open. He sat up straight and looked around to find he was the only one in the room. He looked forward to find the TV was turned off. The whole room was dark and abandoned and an unease entered his body.

"Raph?" He called, a strange echo returning back to him. He got no response back. He felt the anxiety build in his stomach.

"Come on Raph this isn't funny." He yelled standing up. He looked around the living to find it completely deserted. He groaned, a sudden sting from his arm. He watched as the white bandage was starting to stain red.

He heard a large crash coming from the kitchen.

"Raph!" He yelled.

"Mike! Mikey is that you? _Help!"_ He heard Raph's voice. He quickly darted towards the kitchen but when he entered found no one.

"What the hell.." He mumbled, looking around to see the pots and pans were knocked off the rails.

"Raph!" He tried once more. He started to sweat, but it wasn't for reasons of stress or fright, but he was actually feeling hot. His mouth began to dry, feeling a burn his throat. He gagged, trying to clear his throat.

"Oh god… _Master Splinter_!" He yelled as loud as he could with his voice hoarsed. "Ack!" Suddenly his arm felt like it was on fire. He quickly ripped off the bandages to look at the mane wound. He watched as the blood pulled and what seemed to be coming to a boil. His breathing began to become rapid, panic setting in. He needed to find someone or do something. He got up and ran towards the door the let himself out of the lair. But, the latch wouldn't budge.

"Come on _Come on!"_ He yelled banging on the door as if it would magically open.

"Yo, Mike." His brothers voice coming from Dons lab. He saw a single light was on. Mikey couldn't move. "Mikey come here! Master Splinter…I don't know whats wrong with him!" He could hear his brothers hectic voice but didn't know whether or not to go.

With hesitant steps, he made his way over to the lab and looked inside to see once again there was no one.

"Im losing it. Im seriously losing it." He whispered to himself, keeping a hold on his arm as the burning intensified. He was hearing whispers in his years, taunting his mind. He continued to circle the room until suddenly the light went out. He stood there in pitch black hearing nothing but his own heart racing. Quickly he scrambled to the cabinets looking for a flashlight. He rushed and knocked anything over that didn't feel like what he needed.

"Yes!" He yelped when he felt the cylinder type item he was looking for. With shaky hands he turned on the light only to find an endless darkness, no sign of the gadgets and gizmos that were in the room before. Mikey flashed the light around to try and find the doorway but had no luck. He gulped, breathing heavily.

A cracking noise caught his eyes. He couldn't pin it but it started to get louder and louder, overlapping with his intense beating heart. He shined the light in front of him and yelped before falling on his butt. The boy stood there, gazing down at him with his neck crooked so unnaturally. His spine poking out from the side of his neck. His eyes glazed over with a white layer. A ooze dripped from his mouth, falling to the floor. Mikey eyes were wide as he started to back up trying to escape the sight of the dead boy. His shell hit the wall making him lose grip of the flashlight. It fell to the floor making him lose sight of the boy. He quickly grabbed it once more shining it in front of him to find the boy face to face with him, invading his space. For a moment the boy just stared at him, no words but a blank stare of a rotting corpse. Suddenly, his mouth opened wide, going past how a natural just should. A piercing scream leaving his mouth causing Mikey to scream in turn though drowned out by the sound of the dead boy.

* * *

Mikey awoke with a jolt, almost falling off of the couch. His eyes were wild looking up to see Leo standing above him in shock.

"Mikey you okay?" He asked with concern. He quickly darted his eyes around the room and saw Donnie and Raph looking at him with similar concern. He instic put his hand on his arm above the bandages to see that they were still relatively clean. There was no burning and no whispers in his mind. His heart was beating at 100 miles an hour. He stared down at the floor, calming his breath once more for the hundredth time today.

"yeah…Yeah I'm good. Just had a nightmare." He tried to explain. Leo placed a hand on his shoulder, making him flinch slightly.

"Mikey you're letting your guilt get to your head. Cant let it fester." Leo explained, handing him a plate of pizza. Mikey looked down at his favorite meal and felt no need to eat it. His hunger soon diminished into nothing and eating anything did not sound appealing. Thinking back to his dream, to the child that he felt will now forever haunt him. His voice somehow became recognizable.

"I think I remember what the kid told me before we fell." Mikey mentioned, holding the plate in his lap. Raph grumbled, shoveling down another piece of pizza.

"Yeah? What did he say?" He asked through a mouth full of food. Without looking up, Michelangelo responded.

"He called me a vessel."

* * *

 _ **A:N/ hey guys! Hope you are enjoying! Its just gonna get more freaky from here! Please leave reviews I love hearing what you guys have to say (: till next time! -F**_


	3. Meat Locker

Meat Locker

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A few days past since the burning of the old warehouse. Since then, everything seemed to go back to normal. Or so they thought.

Three out of the four brothers sat around their kitchen table mumbling on with each other and Master Splinter as the small tv played in the background. Master Splinter took a sip from his coffee before looking up to see Donatello was playing around on his laptop, not giving any attention to his family around him.

"Donatello, remember what I told you about using electronics at the table during meals?" he said with mild irritation in his voice. Donnie peaked over his computer for a moment, sighing before closing the laptop.

"Sorry Master Splinter I was just trying to look into more of that cult we encountered the other day."

"Donnie you've been researching that for a couple of days now and you still haven't found anything?" Leo asked placing his toast on the plate before sitting down.

"It's hard because I don't know the name of the cult so there are hundreds in New York. I'm looking further down into it. You wouldn't think it would be that hard. Their method of whatever they were trying to do was nothing I read up about. Sacrificing a person is per say normal. But six kids…that's excessive. And with burning like that… that was just intense."

"They seemed to have been damning their souls to hell, burning them to purity before their souls would enter." Master Splinter answered before taking another sip from his drink.

"Wow Master Splinter, I'm shocked you know anything about Satanist." Raphael mentioned waiting for his eggs to finish cooking.

"Though my beliefs lie with Buddha, it is important to be aware of all religions. Their good intentions and bad intentions." He explained.

"So what do you think their intentions were with those kids?" Leo asked, taking a bite of his toast.

"I am unsure, but I am aware of their presence. There has been a lingering force since you boys have been home." He said.

"Is it something to be worried about?" Leo asked feeling some unease. Before Master Splinter, their attention turned to Michelangelo who came sluggishly down the stairs. He groaned rubbing his neck, yawning before sitting down.

"Mikey you look awful." Donnie mentioned before slurping at some cereal. Mikey glanced at him before facing down again in his lap, keeping his hand on his neck.

"Yeah, didn't sleep too well last night." He said before heaving into an exaggerated cough.

"Are you feeling okay? Are you not well Michelangelo?" Master Splinter asked in worry. Mikey didn't want to answer that. He hasn't eaten in days, feeling too sick to even try and take in anything. His throat has been dry since that bizarre dream he had. Those dreams. They haven't stopped, keeping him up at night. He felt too skittish to try and sleep again. Knowing for him it would just end badly if he tried. More terrors, more monsters chasing him. He couldn't sleep. Not anymore.

"Yeah I'm alright." He lied. "Just a scratchy throat is all." He gave his father a weak smile but he could see the concern was not leaving his face.

"Well you want me to make you something? Eggs? Toast?" Donnie offered, standing back up to fill his coffee.

"No thanks, not hungry." He admitted. He flinched slightly hearing the sound of Leo's cup hit the table.

"Mikey you haven't eaten in two days. This isn't like you." He said.

"I-I know. I don't know just not feeling it I guess." How does he describe the mulled taste that entered his mouth every time he tried to eat? What was supposed to be sweet was sour, what was suppose to be bliss with sweet smells was tainted with an unbearable odor; what was suppose to be fresh tasted spoiled, tasted like death.

"Is this still about that kid Mike? You know you can't let that keep guilt tripping you." Donnie mentioned, not taking his eyes off his coffee as it brewed. The kid. Mikey later found out on the news his name was Jacob Sanders. Nine years old. His whole family was murdered and he was missing for a week prior to the warehouse incident.

Though the boy was no longer popping up in Mikey's nightmares, the curling feeling of his spirit lingering around made him want to vomit.

Suddenly a swarm of irritation flooded his body. Something he was not familiar with since he normally kept his temperament under control. A heated feeling of hatred was burning through his veins. His breathing getting deeper, trying to calm himself of this strange feeling. Then, Raphael opened his mouth.

"Geez Mikey, cant be crying over spilt milk for the rest of ya life. The kid died. Aint nothing you can do about it but move on." He said, Taking a swig from the milk in the fridge.

 _"Raph!_ " Leo hissed.

"What? Am I wrong? Yer gonna sit here and tell me this aint crazy? He aint even eating Leo. All because some looney of a kid decided to take a bite out of ya." He shrugged taking another sip.

 _Breathe._

"Raphael that is no way to talk to your brother. Michelangelo was gone through a traumatic experience and he will grieve in the ways he finds most comfortable for him." Master Splinter told him.

 _Breathe Mikey Breathe._

"I get that but this is just getting annoying. It's obvious hes just looking or some extra attention he's apparently not getting so Im sorry if I'm gonna call him out on it. What's the Matter Mike, are we not giving you enough attention and feeling sorry for you ya gotta start starving yourself?" Raph asked with a smirk on his face, taking another drink from the milk.

 _Break._

"Raph, do you ever just shut the _Fuck_ _up?_ " Mikey sneered, facing his older brother. Raph stopped drinking, slowly putting the jug down. Donnie looked away from the coffee and Leo stopped with the toast still in his mouth.

"Michelangelo!" Master Splinter tried to reprimand. Raph snarled, slamming the milk down.

"Got someth'n to say to me you fucking brat?" He raved. Mikey didn't even flinch, staring at him with cold blue eyes.

"You have a lot to say for someone who bitches and moans when shit doesn't go his way or when Leo up fronts him every god damn day. You think we wanna listen to you slamming doors making a fuss so we all can watch you make a fool of yourself because you are nothing more than a sad child who could never be good enough. Guess what? You'll never be good enough." So simple, yet so cold. Somehow Raph lost all his anger and was replaced with mere shock.

"Mikey!" Leo yelled. Splinter put a hand up to stop Leo from intervening as he watched Mikey carefully. For a while he and Raphael locked eyes.

"You fucking prick." Raph Grunted Storming out of the kitchen. Mikey closed his eyes, a splash of relief entered him.

"Mikey.." He opened his eyes to see everyone staring at him. They had no words. They were shocked as well as upset at their baby brother but at the same time so confused. Mikey has never yelled out like that before. He was king at tormenting Raph in the sense of amusement, not actually trying to hurt him.

Without saying a word, He got up from the table and headed towards the front door, ignoring the demands from his father to stay.

* * *

He made his way across Manhattan, keeping to the shadows since it was mid day. He just needed some air, some time to think. That burst of anger it felt like it was just brewing inside him with no explanation as to why. He hated it. He hated feeling angry. But, that alone, hurting Raph. It felt good.

A sudden smell hit his nostrils. He took a big sniff of the air and sighed. It smelt good, making his mouth drool and his stomach rumble. He followed the smell through the alleys till he made his way behind a building where in his luck the door was opened. Slipping in, he crept through the back of the building, keeping a mental note of the temperature change. The door slammed, making his jump in surprise. Half of the lights turned on, causing him to hide away from them. The delicious smell was starting to make his stomach cramp from hunger. He was so hungry. He kept to the shadows of the room till he made it to another door. With swiftness, he opened the metal latch.

Meat. Meat hung from hooks from the ceiling. Large slabs of cow kept at an appropriate temperature. The blood of the dead cattle dripped to the floor. Mikey felt a chill down his spine, watching his breath turn into a cloud from the air. He was dying to taste that meat, Like a wild animal.

" _Esse en Junge…_ " And cracked voice echoed in the room. Mikey jumped back, darting his head around to find the source of the voice.

" _Esse en Junge!_ " It screamed, piercing his ears. He cringed, covering them in hopes to help but it didn't.

"God just make it stop, _please!"_ He whined backing up to the wall, sitting down with his knees up.

Footsteps, loud and thunderous started to approach him. He was hesitant but looked up. His breathing quickened, eyes going wide. A woman, heavy set and older stood above him. She wore an apron covered in blood. Half of her head gone, looked at though it was blown off by a shotgun as you could see the inner part of her head could be shown. She held something in her hand. Mikey couldn't find the strength to scream. His heart pounding so fast he thought he would have a heart attack.

Please…" He thought this is where he was going to die. The voices coming from this woman he convinced himself it had to be. He will face death today. He shut his eyes waiting for the blow.

A plop came to his ears and when he opened his eyes he looked to see a large red lump of flash was in front of him. He looked up at the butcher.

"Speisen." She spoke, voice cracked and hoarse.

"What?" Mikey questioned, still not following the full situation.

 _"Speisen_!" She screamed. Mikey coward.

" I don't know what you're saying!" He yelled. The woman only stared at him. His stomach cramped once again. He grunted and realized what she wanted him to do. She wanted him to eat.

He didn't know what this flesh was. All he knew was that he was hungry and he needed to eat something. With little resistance he reach forward and grabbed the meat. Holding it in his hand he realized what it was. It was a heart.

As if he were a wild animal, he took a large bite of it. He grimaced at first but quickly turned to a feeling of relief. The muscle was smooth and slick, tender enough to chew. Mikey felt relieved, he felt content as he swallowed his first bite, feeling it hit his stomach. Days of not eating, he couldn't has asked for a better meal.

As quickly as he received it, he devoured the heart; leaving nothing more than the blood stain remembrance on his face. He sat there, leaning his head back, relaxing now that his stomach was full. The woman was long gone leaving only him and hundreds of cow parts hanging in the air.

"Heh.." Mikey huffed, smiling.

 _"Hahahaha!"_ He started to laugh hysterically, releasing all the tension he had. When he finally calmed down, he sighed.

"I understand now."

* * *

Hours passed since Mikey left the house, the clock coming to 8pm. Leo sat at the couch watching his shell cell but wasn't receiving any calls from his little brother it seemed. He was worried about him. Ever since that interaction with that cult, his brother hasn't been the same. His whole demeanor was different and it was quite terrifying to see. He flinched slightly when he heard one of the bedroom doors open to see Raphael coming out. Raph was lectured by their father shortly after Mikey left and has been in his room ever since.

"Hey." Leo said.

"Hey." Raph grumbled. "Dick head aint home yet?" He said with spite. Though they fought Leo knew Raph was just as worried as he was about their baby brother.

"No not yet. Just sitting here debating whether or not to go out and look for him." Leo admitted.

"I wouldn't. You know Mikey wouldn't have left unless he really wanted to be alone." Raph said. Leo knew he was right. But that just proved his point even further that there was something wrong.

Speaking of their missing brother, the front door of the lair opened and both their heads swung to look to see Mikey walking in.

"Mikey!" Leo yelled running towards him. Mikey looked up and smiled.

"Hey Leo." But his up beat feeling didn't change the concern on Leonardo's face.

"Mikey there's blood all over your face." He pointed out trying to reach out to wipe at it. Mikey quickly retracted back, not wanting his brother to touch him.

"Oh yeah I just got a really bad nose bleed is all." He said with a nervous laugh. He looked to see Raph standing there but noticed he wasn't going to say anything. That was probably a good thing.

"Well, I'm gonna go to bed. Night!" He said cheerfully heading up the stairs. Leo stood there dumbfounded unable to say anything in response. When he heard the door of Mikeys room closed, he looked behind to make a comment but stopped.

"Raph?" He questioned. Raphael shook where he stood and his blood running down blood.

"Raph?!" Leo said with concern. Raph couldn't speak, he couldn't move. When his brother walked through the door he didn't see Mikey. He saw a dark entitiy. Something of evil. Raph couldn't do anything but allow his body to fall back and slide into darkness.

* * *

 _ **A:N/ I mean I like my steak raw but not THAT raw! Hope you all enjoyed please leave a review! Till next time! -F**_


	4. The Beast

The Beast

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It was dark, a piercing blackness invading his vision. He couldn't find his away around, he couldn't move. It was too dark, a suffocating bubble he couldn't escape from. Raphael scratched and clawed at the non-existent walls he was around. He was drowning. Drowning in the dark. Screams, all around him.

He jolted from where he laid in Donnie's cot in the lab. His breathing was labored as he held his chest. What was that? That was not a normal dream, far from it. This was manic feeling, a warped reality he couldn't pin to.

Before he could think more on it, Donnie was at his side, trying to speak to him but Raphael was lost in this world he had just exited from. He looked over to his brother and stared as he talked.

"What?" Raph asked.

"I said are you alright?" Donnie asked. Raph groaned, placing his hand on his head.

"Yeah, I guess. What happened?"

"I was hoping you could tell me." Donnie said as he sat back in his chair giving Raph some space. Raphael was confused, not really sure what Donnie was asking for. He let his eyes wonder to see he was in Donnie's lab. But why? He was trying to remember the events he could before he ended up here.

It was late, he was waiting up for Mikey. He talked to Leo, Mikey came home and then-

"I don't remember" He said looking up at Don. "Sorry." Donnie smiled.

"Its okay bro. Maybe after a few minutes of being awake you'll start to remember."

It was all just one big blur it felt. But with that feeling blurriness there was a distinct sting of fear. He felt chills run down his arm. There was more to that. He didn't think too much after he heard a loud growl coming from his stomach. He looked up to see that Donnie heard it as well and smiled.

"Guess your ready for breakfast. Can you make it to the kitchen?" He asked. All Raphael could do was nod still not fully convinced that that was all that happened last night. He slowly got up and made his way out of his brother's lab and with a slow pace made his way into the kitchen.

He made an immediate stop looking over the table to see his little brother scarfing down a bowl of cereal with a side of eggs and ham. It wasn't the piggish way he was eating but more of the fact that, he was _eating_. Donnie took note of Raphs sudden stop and cleared his throat.

"Master Splinter and Leo went to Aprils to see if they couldn't get anything to help you so Mikey made you a huge breakfast just in case you woke up soon enough." The sound of Donnie's voice caught Mikey's attention and with milk running down his mouth, he perked his head up and almost choked.

"Raph!" He cheered in between chews before finally swallowing. "You're up! Bout time the eggs were gonna get cold!" he said as he got up, wiping his mouth with his arm before starting to prepare a plate for his brother. Raph didn't know how to respond because it wasn't just Mikey he was looking at. His skin crawled feeling that same sense of darkness filling his bones. The same feeling he experienced the night before.

"Don," His voice cracked. "He's eating." Donnie had a distinct surprised look on his face. "Yeah he's been devouring the kitchen all morning. Literally like a bottomless pit." He said with a laugh but when he looked up at Raphael, he didn't see amusement. His eyes fixated on Mikey as he prepared the plate of food.

"Donnie do you not see that?" He asked, not even blinking out of site. Don looked back towards Mikey who placed the plate on the table and took his seat back before taking down more of his breakfast.

"Mikey acting like a slob yes I do see that." He said half heartily but notice it didn't raise amusement from Raphael. He looked up at his skittish younger brother to see that Raph was tense. Donnie bit his lip, "Do you need to lie back down?" He asked, still gaining no response from the hot head. His amber eyes fixated on their youngest brother taking down yet another plate of food. Raphael made his way to the table and took a seat across from Mikey, not even blinking away from his direction.

Donnie was about to make a comment before he heard the phone ring in the other room.

"Ill be right back. I think that's Master Splinter." He spoke up, not receiving a response from either brother. He huffed in defeat and walked away.

Raphael made no movements but sat there and watched Mikey. The orange-banded turtle perked his head up from his food to see his brother staring at him and it made him squirm in his chair. He swallowed the food in his mouth and looked up and Raph and smiled.

"Look Raph I'm sorry about the other day. I was just cranky which is rare and I didn't mean to piss you off like that. So we good now?" The apology was half assed like they normally are in their family so Raphael took no offense to the underlining sarcasm in Mikey's voice.

"Ya're eating." Was all Raph said. This took Mikey a little by surprise.

"Yeah. Normally when someone is hungry they eat." He responded.

"Ya haven't eaten in days. What makes ya wanna eat now?" Mikey took another bite of his breakfast.

"Well when you haven't eaten in days it makes you wanna eat." This conversation was going around in circles. Mikey was dodging the actual issue. Raphael could feel his heart rate rising as the same dark force flooded his senses. He looked past Mikey and saw what he was seeing earlier and what he was sure he saw the night before.

It was a dark entity. A swirling form. It was brief and see through and almost non existent. But he could feel it, and was confused why Donnie couldn't see it. They were trained to feel auras light and dark. So why couldn't Donnie see it? Certainly Donatello was much more focused than Raphael when it comes to things like that. Was it making it so that only he can see it? Is Mikey even aware its there? Following him? Attached to him?

"Mikey, What's behind ya?" He asked. Mikey stopped bit bite, placing his fork on the plate. He looked up at his brother with a cold face, but a glimmer in his eyes said another story.

"What are you talking about Raph?" He asked.

"Whats. Behind. You." He said slowly for his brother to fully understand. Mikey stared at his brother for a moment longer and with care, turned in his chair and looked behind him. When he felt he spent enough time searching the space, he turned back in his seat and smiled.

"Was there suppose to be a trick? Trying to get back at me? Raph I'm the prank master so leave that to me." He said. Raphael was growing impatient.

"Don't fuck with me Mikey. I know you see it! Its literally on you!" He snarled. That raised an eyebrow from Mike, making him instinctively reach behind his neck.

"What are you talking about?" Mikey asked with confusion. Raphael was taken back, maybe Mikey wasn't aware. Maybe it really didn't exist.

A sharp noise pierced his ears, making him cringe from the sudden pain in his head.

"Raph…?Raph…?" Mikey's voice was fading out so suddenly all that Raphael could hear was the ringing and his own heart beat. It was intense. It was like he was drowning in a shallow pool with a dark cloud surrounding him.

" _RAPH!"_ His eyes shot open and he jumped out of his chair knocking it over and in a defensive stance.

Mikey was choking with a noose around his neck. His eyes blood shot and his skin pale green as he reached out to his older brother.

"Raph!" His voice strained as the rope around his neck grew tighter. Raphael looked up to see the same darkness pulling the rope. It stood behind Mikey and this time it was clearer, more solid to see. Its form was indescribable but the feeling of evil weighed Raphael down as it stared with its deep, white specks of eyes. Its growl was nothing like Raphael has heard before. It was like an animal. Raph was frozen where he stood, engorged in the stare of this creature. Whispers filled his head as he somehow felt like he was suffocating himself.

"Raph.." The small voice allowed to him to switch his gaze. His physically shook seeing the change in his brother's form. Where the noose was, was replaced with slit across his throat, face bruised and bloodied. Raphael couldn't speak, he couldn't move. The dark entity moved around Michelangelo till it stood in front of Raphael. Raphael was holding his breath as it formed to something similar of a beast, horns as large as trunks. Its mouth opened slowly, growing larger than Raphael's head. Teeth as sharp as knives and just as long.

Raph had to think quickly. He mustard all the strength he had to reach to the table. His hand scrambling across in hopes to find something was fortunate enough to grab a knife. With all his might, he yelled out loud and brought the knife down on the creature. Instead of feeling flesh or even air under his swing, he felt the knife clang against metal. The prang of the two solid clinging together shot a painful volt of sound through his head, blurring his vision and making him shut his eyes.

" _Raph! Raph are you listening?!"_ A panic voice filled his mind. When he opened his eyes, he wasn't looking at the best anymore; instead he was standing over Michelangelo. Mikey was halfway sitting up on the ground with his arm up in defense. Raph looked up to see the knife aiming at his youngest brother but it being intersected with his eldest brothers katana. Raph was breathing hard and looked to his side to see Leo twisted to stop the attack.

"Raphael, what do you think you're doing? Have you lost your _mind_!" Raphael was in shock. This wasn't happening. He immediately dropped the knife and back away from his now heated brother. He quickly saw Donnie run over to help Mikey up and Master Splinter standing in the doorway to the kitchen. But he didn't look surprise or shocked. He was observing. He heard Leo putting his katana back.

"Raph what the hell happened?" Leo demanded. Raph couldn't come up with anything. Even if the beast was no longer visible, its aura was still lingering.

"I uh.."

"It was my bad." Mikey's voice picked up. Donnie helped him on his feet. " I was making fun of him for passing out and just being a real pain. It wasn't his fault. So don't be mad at him alright?" Everyone was silent. Raphael stared at Mikey with confusion.

"I don't think I'm fully recovered Donny. I might need to be checked out." He said without braking eye contact with Michelangelo. He didn't know his brothers game, but he was determined to find out.

* * *

Later that night Mikey escaped from the overbearing attention of Leo and Donnie and made his way to the bathroom. He turned on the light and looked in the mirror to see his own reflection. Raph's behavior today was concerning. What was more concerning was this apparent figure attached to him. Mikey moved his neck side to side to look at all angles to make sure nothing was connected. He took a breath of relief. Maybe Raph was just losing his mind. He thought back to the night he met the butcher. With their deal, they agreed no harm would come to his brothers. He had hoped they keep their side.

His throat suddenly went dry and he started to cough. He ran the water and cupped some in his hands and slurped it from his palms. He took a breath but still continued to cough.

"Ah,, fuck" He groaned trying hard to clear what ever was causing him to be in distress. Finally, he felt a bulge in his throat and with all his might; he coughed It out and ended up in the sink.

It looked like a clot of blood, a trail of crimson leading out of his mouth and into the sink. Looking at the sick discoloration made him want to vomit. His mind began to blur and immediately started to regret his decision.

"I don't wanna do this anymore." He looked back up at the mirror. "You said my brothers wouldn't be hurt but Raph is going psycho. I wanted to help but not with them at risk. Find someone else." He told himself in the mirror before pushing himself off the sink and started to turn to head out of the bathroom. Before he could, the light went out.

Mikey stood there, hand on the knob but couldn't find the energy to turn it.

" _Kah,,Ah,,"_ The sound came from behind him. He suddenly became rattled. He turned slowly back to the mirror, walking back to the sink. He wasn't able to see anything except for the two beady white eyes appearing in the mirror. Mikey stood still, watching, as the eyes grew closer. Mikey held onto the side of the sinks, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall. He wasn't going to be released. He kept his eyes shut and allowed his mind, body, and soul to be devoured by the darkness.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Sorry this took so long guys! Promise Ill try and update more often ! Tell me what you think and leave reviews! Till next time!**_

 _ **-F**_


	5. Trial

Trial

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The following night, the brothers went out on their normal patrol, looking out for any suspicious activity in the lively city. They stalked out on one of the local rooftops, contemplating the plan for the night. Donnie sat playing around on his scanner, listening in to some of the reports being sent out. Nothing past pulled over cars and small robberies that were caught within minutes of the report.

"How long do we gotta be standing up here for?" Raph asked with mild irritation.

"Patience Raph. Its not the first time we've had to wait out for a while." Leo pointed out. Raphael but his lip before huffing in frustration. Leonardo took note in the lack of argument coming from his brother. He also took note of the seemingly silent youngest brother tonight as well. Leo looked over at the old air conditioning where he saw Mikey sat with his eyes looking down at the ground.

"Mikey." Leo called. On instant command, Mikey looked up.  
"yes?" He asked. Leo didn't like that response.

"You feeling okay? You've been pretty quiet since we left." He watched his brothers movements carefully, keeping a mental note of every crease, twitch, and lift in his face. Suddenly, as if being known he was being watched his face instantly lit up.

"Yeah bro! Just waiting to see what were doing. I thought id leave all the whining to Raph." He shot playfully but Raphael didn't respond. In fact, he didn't even look in his direction.

Raphaels skin crawled when is younger brother spoke. More of the fact he knew deep down, whether his family saw it or not, this was not Mikey. Sure, he was rehearsed to sound like him, walk like him, even be as annoying as him. But, it was the little moments like this, where it was not an instant instinct to act the way he was suppose to and yet he was suppose to be reminded of who he was. It was when he knew it wasn't him.

On top of that was the dark figure that still lingered. Raphael couldn't see it now, but he could still feel it. He saw it in his dreams, behind closed doors, in every crevice of darkness in this world was that thing watching him, staring at him. His paranoia has made it so he himself has not been able to sleep since the incident in the kitchen, since he had that vision. Raphael shook, trying to get the memory out of his head.

Leo did not allow his discomfort to go unnoticed. He eyed his hotheaded brother as well as his promiscuous brother, both of which were acting unusually odd. He had been trying to figure out the nature of this weird twist in energy but couldn't seem to figure out what. When he meditated and sensed what was around him, he couldn't seem to pin it. It was denser than other energies around but that can easily be mistaken as one of his brothers being stressed. It truly was becoming an annoyance to Leo that he couldn't seem to figure this out, and his brothers were suffering for it.

He was quickly brought out of his thoughts when he heard the ding from scanner go off, seeing Donnie popping his head up.

" Call reporting a loud boom coming from the east side. Abandon warehouse." He said looking over his brothers.

"Think it's our friends in the cloaks again?" Leo asked, putting some supplies away in his belt.

"Sounds like it. We should probably see what they're blowing up." Donnie said, standing up and putting away the scanner.

 _"Mēcum venī"_ A whisper went through Mikey's ear. He quickly shook it off before his other brothers could notice the sudden twitch he had.

"We should probably go." Mikey chirped up, catching their attention. "I don't want anymore kids getting hurt." Leo laid a hand on shoulder.

"Don't worry Mikey. Well take care of them." That was the last bit of advice that was given till they took off across the rooftops.

* * *

They finally made it to the east side of Manhattan with minutes to spare before the police showed and just as they thought, it was the satanic cult they dealt with few nights before. But it wasn't just a boom they heard, they set the entire church to flame. The brothers stood on the next building over, watching as the fire danced with color. Leonardo couldn't help but to watch for a few moments, eyes fixated on the Christ statue standing tall in the middle of the flame. What an Irony.

"Shit, these guys are nuts." Raphael mentioned, stepping closer to feel the heat against his skin. Donnie scanned the grounds to see some of the hooded figures running across the street.

"Well how about we go down and ask them what's the big idea?" He suggested. With a grin, Leo hopped down with Donnie and Raph. But, without them noticing, Michelangelo stayed on the roof and stared as the house of Christ burned to the ground.

* * *

Down below, the cult members ran across the street as fast as they could to avoid being touched by the fire. They stopped at the end of the road to watch from the distance their victory.

"The master will be pleased." One spoke.

"Most pleased indeed." Said the other.

"Well now." Both had turned to find the three turtles they have encountered before standing behind them. "Mind explaining what made you have the need to burn down a building?" Leo asked in a calm voice. The two cloaked figures took a step back but in no need had attempted to run away.

"Ya better spill real quick. My patience is runn'n real low today." Raph growled stepping closer to the cloaked beings, not prepared for one of them to reach out a hand. With that movement, he could see the faces of the cult followers to see they were nothing more than teenagers. Young, novice at most. The young mans hand was inches from his face. A wild smile spread across the boys face.

 _"Connection. Connection. Connection._ " He chanted in a shrill voice that was all too excited. He reached out farther only to have Raphael swat his hand away.

"The fuck are you saying?" He shouted, moving back in formation with his brothers. The man looked at the three before looking up at the roof where they had descended from.

"Vessel." He whispered, catching the interest of Donnie. He remembered when Mikey first got bit, the word Vessel was spoken of.

"He will come. He will." The other cloaked being spoke. Reaching behind him, his partner followed suite, both of which had pulled out hand guns.

"Woah!" Raph yelled pulling out his sais, Donnie and Leo taking a stance and ready to grab their weapons.

"He" they clicked the gun

"Will" They brought it up to the sides of their temples.

" _Come!_ " And pulled the trigger.

"Jesus _Christ_!" Raphael immediately pulled back, running into Donnie and Leo. The sudden shot was enough to wake up the entire neighborhood, and enough to paint the sidewalk with blood and brain matter. They all stood there dumbfounded and lost for words.

"What just…What just happened?" Donnie was out breath and wide eyed. Leonardo collected himself and well as he could and took a look around.

"Where's Mikey?"

* * *

 _"Mēcum venī, Mēcum venī, Mēcum venī."_ The voice was repeating over and over again in his head, immobilizing him in place.

"Come to me. Come to me. Come to me." Mikey repeated back in a muttering tone. His stare was blank, almost absent in a sense. His mind being cluttered by the multiple of voices that were invading him. He didn't even notice as his brothers came back on the roof.

"Mikey where did you go?" Leo asked immediately walking straight up to his little brother, still tense from the previous action. Michelangelo didn't respond to him, still muttering to himself. Leo leaned down slightly to be eye level, both hands on his shoulders, shaking him slightly.

"Mike? Mikey? Answer me!" Leo felt a strange form of aggression coming over him. Was it because he was in shock? Or was it he just about had it with the weird shit going on around him. He felt his body suddenly get jittery and impatient waiting for Mikey to pay attention. When Mikey didn't turn to him, Leo roughly grabbed his chin and turn him to look.

"Michelangelo _listen to me!_ " He demanded. When he finally made clear eye contact with his brother, it was not what he was expecting.

His eyes were watering, not from crying but from looking for too long. His attention was grabbed by the sudden nosebleed his brother suddenly got. His skin looked clammy and chilled.

"Mikey?" Leo suddenly was no longer angry but instead concerned as he started to feel his brother shake. In a mere instance, Mikeys eyes rolled and he went slack. Leo quickly caught his body, going down with him.

"Don!" he called laying his brother down. Donnie ran quickly over, sliding to his knees. He watched his brothers body convulse, his head twitching to the side and eyes still rolled back.

"Hes having a seizure. What happened Leo?" Donnie said looking at him. Suddenly Leonardo was feeling guilt, as if he started this. Suddenly Mikeys convulsions and body went slack.

"Don? Donnie what's happening?" Leo said in a frantic tone. He didn't know what had suddenly come over him. He was feeling frantic, unimaginable for some reason. Then, in just a brief instant he felt it. That dense aura. It wasn't as slight now but instead it was invading his senses. He almost didn't hear Donnie explain to him that everything would be okay but they needed to leave. Leonardo shook off and refocused as he lowered himself to pick up his brother. Once he had Mikey secured in his arms he looked over to see Raphael standing there with doe eyes.

"Raph lets go!" He hollered already hopping down to the next rooftop with Donnie hot on his trails. Raphael couldn't move for a moment but was coming back into focus as he was hearing the ambulances and fire trucks finally making their way to the fire.

He saw it again, that black beast only this time, it was on Leo.

* * *

They made it back to the lair in a haste with Master Splinter at the door asking a million questions and the main one being why was Michelangelo unconscious. Leo took the time to explain to Master Splinter what had happened out in the other room while Donnie continued to keep tabs on Mikey, keeping him hooked up in the lab so he would be immediately notified if something changed.

Donatello sat at his desk, taking a few minutes just to himself to gather his thoughts. Today was a much more wilder ride than he was expecting it to be. It was one thing with the weird tension between Mikey and Raph but Leos irrationalities was a new one. He looked back at his youngest brother and truly questioned what was going on in his head.

A soft knock caught his attention to see Raphael standing in the doorway.

"Hey Don." He said quietly, not wanting to wake Mikey.

"Hey." He said simply back. Raph but his lip looking at Mikey then back at Don.

"Can you come out here for a second?" He knew that Mikey was knocked out for the rest of the night but he still didn't want to say anything in front of him.

"Yeah sure." Donnie complied, taking a step out of his lab. Raph closed the door behind him and leaned up against him. Donnie let out a puff of air.

"Boy, this sure wasn't an average patrol." He tried to joke.

"Yeah." Was all Raph could think of saying.

"Whats on your mind then?" Donnie asked, sensing that light humor wasn't going to work.

"Have you found any new information on that cult at all?" He asked. Donnie hummed for a moment.

"Not recently but I'm sure after tonight I will look more into it."  
"Well I was thinking about going ta' the source." Raph countered quickly.

"What do you mean?"

"Those kids. The ones the police picked up. They all went to ta' hospital right?"

"Yeah?" Donnie questioned not really following what Raph was getting at.

"I say we go in a talk to some of those kids. They probably know something." Raph tried to explain.

"Do you just expect us to just walk in and talk to these kids?" Donnie ask with doubt in his voice.

"Well ask April." Leo suddenly appeared beside them. "She owes us anyways for getting her and Casey up on the good seats from the basketball game." Donnie looked at him with awe.

"You want to do this?" He asked.

"Donnie you cant sit there and say something isn't right. What ever is happening has to do with that group and any information on them would be helpful and I think the best to ask is probably to source." He explained. Donnie wanted to argue but knew he couldn't. He hasn't experienced any weird phenomenon and was not his place to judge how his other brothers were feeling.

"Ill call April." Was all he said before he walked into the kitchen to call their human friend. Leo folded his arms, looking at Raph.

"You think something weird is going on too?" Raph asked. Leo nodded.

"I'm not sure what exactly is going on but were going to get to the bottom of it." Leo cracked the door open just slightly to see Mikey's sleeping form. Content his brother wasn't going to stir, he closed the door and continued on with his plans. But what Leo didn't see, was Mikey awake during their entire conversation and hearing every single word.

* * *

 _ **A:N/ Merry Christmas and happy holidays everyone! Hope you all have a good holiday break and enjoy some more creepy stories! Till next time!**_

 _ **-F**_


	6. Dreams

Dreams

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The next morning, April Oneil strolled her way up to the Manhattan Mental Institute and stood in front of the door. She fingered at the pass that was fraud in her pocket, knowing that this was her way of getting inside. She unintentionally looked up, seeing two figures going across the skies to the top of the roof. When the boys asked her for this favor she was a little thrown off. She knew that Michelangelo was struggling after the death of the child, but wasn't aware of Raphael's mental break.

She remember getting the call late that night, asking for her presence. When she came by, she was immediately escorted to the lab, under the radar of Master Splinter. Raphael wasn't comfortable with their father knowing just yet about this weird phenomenon happening around him. He wanted to take care of it himself if he could. Besides, he was sure whatever was happening was far out of his father's control.

When she entered the lab, she saw Mikey on the cot. She immediately felt concerned seeing the youngest lay motionless. Donnie explained to her that he has a seizure and he will recover. Leonardo told her, her assistance was needed in talking to one of the victims of the cults ritual. It was hard finding a child since a couple were sent out of state and some ended up killed by some weird happenings. They only had one lead and that was a little girl named Susan who was locked away at the institute.

She felt morally conflicted walking into this place of sanctuary pretending to be someone to help the girl, when in reality she was going to use her for information. She suddenly cringed as she heard the high pitched squeal of the earpiece.

"April?" She heard Leonardo's voice on the other end.

"Yeah?" She said with some annoyance.

"We got you hooked up. The pass should work. You should be able to just walk in." He explained.

"I don't know guys. This seems wrong. I'm not this girls social worker what happens if she gets her hopes up?" she asked.

"Don't worry April. You are just the the advocate gathering information for the social worker. Nothing more." Leo tried to convince her. She bit her lip before taking a breath and entering the building.

It was immediately cold when she walked in. A small shiver ran down her arms as she walked over to the front desk, ignoring the absent noises coming from the patients of this facility. She looked around the see all ages sitting around, playing with cards, pacing in place, or just staring out into nothingness. Nothing about this place was comforting and it pained her to think a child was here, alone. When she made it to the desk, they scanned her ID and let her through the gate, not surprising her since it was Donatello's handy work.

The hallway was long and eerie as it was different shades of white and grey. It smelt of latex and mixed with urine. Chills ran up her arms as she walked down this hallway, concerned as to why a child was in a place like this. She could hear the quiet screams coming from some of the patients of this facility. She just hoped she would make it to the girls room soon.

Up above, Leonardo kept the earpiece close, waiting for April to make contact with the girl. He could feel Raphael standing behind him, tense and unsure. A slight annoyance reached him against Raph for being so skittish. This was his idea why was he acting like a scared child? Leo quickly bit his lip, shaking the negative emotions off. It was starting to make him panic how often he felt he was coming undone. It all started that night at the burning church. Since then, it has felt his patience is non existent. And that was terrifying.

"Hello?" He heard Aprils voice and quickly straightened up, catching Raphaels attention and moved to sit next to Leo, grabbing the twin ear piece from the bag so he can listen in too.

April opened the door to the room and flinched. The room was small and padded. All that resided was the bed, where the little girl sat criss crossed on top of. She looked up to April and she had to hold back her breath at looking at the child. Her orange hair was matted, as if he hadn't been brushed in days. Her skin was pale with her freckles outlining her face. Her blue eyes were haunting, a classing ginger. April took note of the soft restraints on the girls wrists that were connected to the bed. She was bound, and that didn't calm Aprils nerves.

"Hi Susan, my name is April O'neal." She introduced herself. The little girl didn't respond, merely just stared at the older redhead. April took her time, but moved closer only to watched the girl back up as much as her restraints would let her.

"Hey it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you, I just need to ask some questions. Is that okay?" She said in a quiet voice. The little girl just stared at her for a moment or two before finally nodding in acceptance. April was feeling her heart twine seeing the utter fear and trauma on the girls face. Leo's voice came to her mind, snapping back to reality.

"April, ask her about the night at the warehouse. About the cult." He explained. She nodded in understanding. She smiled at the girl.

"Hunny, I was hoping you could tell me about the night you came here. Do you think you can tell me about the people you were with that night? The people in the cloaks?" She asked. The little girl shook her head.

"I don't remember. I already told the other lady that." She said in a small voice. April realized she must have been speaking about her real social worker.

"I know sweetie." She lied. "I just need to go over some more information is all. So you don't remember that night?" she asked again for clarification. The little girl shook her head.

"Okay what's the last thing you do remember?" She asked. The little girl played with the sheet under her fingers for a moment.

"I was at the pool, with my mommy. We were waiting for daddy and sean to come home." She said not looking up at April.

"Sean is your brother?" She asked. The little girl nodded. " Where is he?" The little girl looked up, hollowed eyes bearing into April.

"He died, like mommy and daddy." April was so invested in the stare that she almost missed Leonardo trying to get ahold of her.

"April!" He spoke up. She made a small sound alerting him she was listening.

"The memory she is referring to is 2 days before the family was killed and she was abducted." He explained. She nodded in understanding. This girl is missing parts of her memories.

"Do you know who the people were that took you?" She asked. The little girl shook her head slowly.

"They had a weird symbol. I don't remember who they were but I remember the drawing." She said.

"What was it?" April asked.

"It was an infinity sign. It has a line through it. It was hot." She said, staring at the wall ahead of her. April was slightly confused by her wording but decided not press the subject seeing how tense the little girls body was starting to get. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a photo of the turtles all together. She remember Donnie telling her there was some strange connection with this and Mikey, and maybe if she saw the photo of her heros from that night, maybe that will shake up some memories.

"Can I show you something?" She asked. The little girl initially did nothing, but gave a little nod in acceptance. April looked at the photo and smiled at the memory of when she took it. She and the boys went out to the beach late at night and got on top of the lifeguard stand. She felt warm from the memory but quickly reverted her attention back to the little girl and handed her the photo. She took it with ease, and put it in her lap. She suddenly tensed. Her eyes glued to the photo and April couldn't help but to follow her fingers.

She dragged her finger with shaky movements across the photo. She rested her finger over Leo's face, then dragged it down to Donnie, whispering something under breath. She went to Raphael and hesitated for a moment. She made a choking noise before landing her finger right over Mikey.

"Vessel." She whispered. She shot her head up to look at April but it wasnt looking at her but more through her. April panicked as she saw the girl was starting to crumple the picture and quickly snatched it back.

"Vessel!" The little girl screamed.

"What?" April asked out of breath as she started to feel her heart starting to quicken.

"April whats happening?" She heard Leo's voice in her head.

"I-I don't know." She admitted. She watched as the girl started to thrash in her bindings. She gave out a high pitched scream that made April bump into the door. She scrambled to the nob and opened the door, crying for help down the hall, attempting to be louder than the child inside. April looked back and froze. The girls body was bent at an unnatural angle, face up towards the ceiling, as if someone was holding her middle. She suddenly dropped, shook violently. April didn't make much move but was quickly pushed to the side as the doctors and nurses came in.

"April get out of there!" Leo yelled. She couldn't agree more. She looked back once more to see the girl looking back her, broken eyes, being shielded as the doctors swarmed her. April never ran as fast as she did out of the hospital and never turned back.

* * *

Donatello typed away on his laptop, checking back every once in a while on Michelangelo who was still unconcious on the cot. He got the update saying Leo and Raph were on their way back but didn't have much to show for their expedition. He yawned and shut his laptop, rubbing his eyes. He had been searching for the past couple of hours trying to find some link to the cult they have been dealing with and has come up with nothing. There was no signs, no markings or anything to identify this group and their intentions. Now to hear his brothers were coming home with nothing didn't make anything better.

A creek caught his attention as he looked to the side and nearly jumped out of his seat seeing Mikey had set himself up, feet hanging on the side of the cot and head down.

"Mikey you scared me." He mentioned taking a breath but quickly grew concerned when Mikey didn't respond. Donnie scooted closer to his brother, trying to get a better look at his brother but saw Miley was trying to evade his look.

"Hey are you feeling okay?" He asked. Growing closer to his face. He saw a slow shake of Mikey's head in disagreement, making Donnie take a breath.

"What's wrong bro?" he asked. He saw a shaky intake of breath from Michelangelo.  
"Donnie, do you know what it's like to be burned alive?" He asked in a small, subtle tone. That immediately made Donnie attempt to sit back but Mikey reached and grabbed hold of his older brothers arm keeping him in place. Donnie bit his lip.

"No. I dont Mike." he said as he attempted to pull his arm back but found it to be useless. Slowly, Mikey moved his head till he was looking Donatello in the eye.

Do you want to know?" He asked. Donnie didn't answer him, searching through the blue orbs for answers to his brothers strange behavior.

Suddenly, he felt a strange sense of heat coming from behind him. He looked behind to see his lab suddenly being consumed by flames. Inch by inch, the fire got closer and Donnie knew it was time to move. He felt a heated sensation that was starting to grow painful on his arm. When he looked down and almost shrieked. A burned 3 fingered hand was holding him tightly. He looked up to see Mikey looking back at him but it was him persay. His body was burned, almost turning into ash. Donatello's heart was racing as he tried to move away but was in too much fear to move. A sudden shriek coming from his now searing brother jolted him from his desk.

"Woah woah! Calm down dude!" Was heard in a distance and Donnie jolted from his seat and ended up on the floor, scooted as fast as he could.

"No! Get away! GET AWAY!" He hollered, hitting his shell against the wall. When his body finally registered he was no longer in danger, he scanned the room to find everything perfectly intact. He looked up to see Mikey standing over him with a cup of coffee in hand, some residue on the side showing that some had made it out of the cup.

"Wha-what happened?" Donnie asked, still trying to calm his breath.

"You tell me bro. I just got up a little while ago and got you some coffee and I spilt some on you and you freaked." Mikey explained putting the cup down and helping Donnie up. Don looked down at his arm and saw the coffee spilt on his arm, cooled at this point. He took a deep breath and looked over his brother. He seemed to look almost normal. His eyes were bright and his stance was strong like normal.

"Mikey you feeling alright?" Donnie asked, wiping away the coffee before sitting down. Mikey shrugged.

"I guess. My head hurts a bit and my arm isn't feeling too good either. Did i hit my head last night and scratched up on something?" He asked, pulling up his arm. Donnie looked over the bandage and saw the blood seeping through. Donnie grew concerned.

"Mikey, you got this last week remember? With what happened at the warehouse and the kid?" Donnie tried to remind him. Mikey gave him a sour face.

"What kid? Last I remember we were fighting a bunch of foot ninja down over on central." He said. Donatello's jaw dropped. He quickly took hold of Mikey's arm and unwrapped the bandage to see not only has the wound not started to heal, it's gotten worse. He grimaced at the sudden stench he got from the wound and sat back. Mikey looked down at his arm and back at Donnie.

"Yo Don, whats going on?" Mikey asked with concern in his voice. Donnie didnt look at him but stared at the ground. Mikey's memory was almost a month ago. Donatello was starting to fear this injury was far worse than he originally anticipated. At least now he will have a distraction to work with to avoid dealing with what his dream was suppose to mean.

* * *

 _ **A/N: WOW Sorry that took so long guys! But I hope you enjoyed and please review (: I have another horror type story Deliver Us From Evil if yall wanna check that out! Till next time!**_

 _ **-F**_


	7. Lessons Learned

Lessons Learned

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"Gah!" Raphael moaned as he was knocked on his shell, sliding back on the matts slightly. He got up on his elbows to see Mikey standing over him. His grim face looking down on him. Their staring contest was interrupted.

"Raphael, this is the 3rd time you have been knocked down. Are you feeling alright?" Master Splinter asked. Raphael looked at his sensei before looking back up at his younger brother, as if directing him what he should.

"Yea. Yea i'm fine. Just an off day." He mumbled out before standing up and taking a few steps back from Mikey. He made it to the end of the matts and sat next to Donnie before releasing his breath. Donnie eyed his red banded brother before looking back at Mikey, who was stretching with a grin.

"Geez Master Splinter, thought you would be excited that I'm doing better." He said. Splinter narrowed his eyes.

"Though I can see your, _improvements,_ " He paused. "But your tactics are out of your normal routine." Mikey lowered his arms.

"Aren't you the one who says we should always keep improving?" He asked, catching the attention of his three older brothers. Splinter raised an eye.

"Yes. But it seems as though you are trying to be more aggressive with your tactics. You do not need to be pushing yourself considering your condition." He said. Suddenly, Mikey's expression went cold. Donnie saw the immediate change and tensed. Its true, Mikey's state of mind was not fully there. Since the incident in his lab, his youngest brothers memory has been splotchy. He has lost huge chunks that had no correlation and yet it barely even fazed him. Don scanned his eyes towards Mikey's arm, seeing the blood was still seeping through. It made his skin crawl knowing that the bite was still not healing and seemed it was just getting worse. But Michelangelo wasn't bothered by it. He didn't even notice it till Donnie mentioned it.

"I'm fine. Just honing my skills the way you say I should." He shot back.

"Mikey." Leo hissed in warning for being disrespectful to their master. Splinter held up a paw in silencing the oldest while keeping his eyes on his youngest.

"Very well. But watch the boundaries. Donatello you are next." he addressed his son before settling back in his seat. Donnie got up and stood on the mat facing his brother and could help but to feel almost clammy. Mikey's facial expression was stern. Donnie took his stance and charge but wasn't expecting Mikey to step out of the way. When Donnie turned to hit him with his elbow, Mikey side stepped, ducking under the attacking before grabbing donnie but the neck and slamming him down to the mat. Before Donnie could respond, Mikey dug his knee in the back of his shell, pressing him down farther in the mat. Mikey reached over and took hold of Donnies arm and started to bring it up to lock it in place.

"Ow!" Doonie yelled, trying to get out of the hold but found it useless. He patted on the mat twice, expressing his need for release but Michelangelo wasn't budging.

"Mikey I give! Let go!" Donnie grumbled. Leo was about to stand up but Raphael grabbed him before he could without taking his eyes off of their youngest.

Instead of taking pressure off of his arm, Mikey began to bend it more, farther than it was suppose to go, attempting to pop it out of place. Donnie began to struggle more, not understanding where this strength or hostility was coming from.

"Mikey stop!" He yelled, feeling his arm bend farther. Mikey made no notion to his brother pleas but kept up the pressure.

"Michelangelo that is enough!" Master Splinter yelled, standing up. Mikey shot a glare at their father before violently dropping Donatello's arm, making Donnie immediately curl it under himself and having both Leo and Raph at his side.

"What?" Mikey challenged throwing his hands out to the sides.

"This is a practice Michelangelo. Purposely trying to hurt your brothers shows no honor!" Even the other three flinched at their fathers words, but not Mikey. He stood there tall and glaring.

"Whatever. I'm gonna take a shower." he announced before heading out of the dojo. Leo was about to march after him but Splinter stopped him. Raphael helped Donnie to a sitting position and watched as his father left the room to meditate. Raph knew this was his only chance.

* * *

"Kneel." Splinter spoke from his seated position in his room. Raphael took a breath before kneeling in front of his father and bowed his head. Splinter opened his eyes and saw his sons shoulders were sagged.

"Raphael look at me." he commanded. With hesitation, he looked up at his father with shallow eyes.

"My son, what is happening to you? I have seen your performance has been starting to decline. You have not been eating, and I hear you wonder the lair at night. What is going on?" He asked. Raphael took a shuddering breath. Part of him hoped his father would not notice his sudden changes but part of him was ecstatic he did. That made talking about this easy.

"Its...its Mikey." He choked out. Splinter arched an eye.

"Michelangelo? Is he bullying you Raphael? I knew you all played rough with one another but is he being too rough?" He asked, a little skeptical considering Raphael was normally the one bullying the others in good fun.

"Father...Do you not feel it?" He asked.

"Feel what?" Splinter asked. Raph bit his lip, starting to feel fear behind his words.

"The dark thing. Its-its behind Mikey. It's always behind him." He started. "And it keeps following me. Ever since Mikey left the lair that one night and I had that fainting episode, it just doesn't go away." He could the unshed tears in his eyes as he felt himself start to panic. Master Splinter said nothing and allowed Raphael to continue to speak of his stress.

"Father it's everywhere. I can't eat, I can't sleep, I cant even take a piss without it around me. It's so heavy. It makes me see things." He admitted, trying to keep his voice balanced.

"What does it make you see?" Splinter asked. He saw Raph physically shake.

"It makes me see things that are dark." He licked his lips. "It shows me Mikey, burning. A-and Leo drowning and Donnie being mutilated and you-" He stopped seeing his father was staring at him intently. He chose not to finish that part of his tale.

"But it's doing something to me, ta' the others, to Mike. Its changing him. I dont think hes sick or whateva' Donnie is trying to say is wrong with 'em. He, he aint Mikey anymore Master Splinter. I feel like I'm goin' crazy cuz I seem to be the only one who sees this damn thing. Leo just gets annoyed if I mention it, Donnie is trying to hide it but I know he knows there's something up." He took a shaky breath.

"Please Masta Splinter. I can't take it anymore. I know I aint crazy and I know you see somethings up too." He pointed out. Splinter mused over Raphaels cry for help and couldn't help but to agree.

"Michelangelo has been off as of late. This odd aggression he has been displaying does make things worrisome. This black entity you speak of I do not recall. Could it be possible it had something to do with when you all interrupted that cult?" He asked. Raphael did not immediately respond.

"When we went to visit that kid in the hospital. She freaked out when she saw Mikey's picture. Not like ya know that were turtles but, actually freaked. Kept calling him a vessel. That aint the first time I heard someone call 'em that." He told his father. Splinter started to feel an unease. If there was something in his home that made it past his intellect, it had a good chance that it was stronger than he.

"Thank you for coming to me with this Raphael. I will have a conversation with Michelangelo and see if I cannot figure out the source of all this discomfort." He told him.

"Father, trust me when I say this, it aint going away so easily. I don't think this is something that we can just get rid of." Raphael admitted. Splinter stood up and walked over to Raph, patting his shoulder in reassurance.

"My son, let me see what I can do before doubt comes through." He told him as he walked out of the room, leaving Raphael with a dread he just made a huge mistake.

* * *

In the Dojo, Splinter set up the room with candles and incense. He made the room scenic and peaceful as he could. He sent for Michelangelo not too long ago and expected his youngest to appear soon. He felt dread in his old bones considering he was about to face a foe he could not see or feel. But, he did not doubt Raphael's fear, he only feared he could not save his sons.

"Master Splinter?" He heard Mikey's voice from the door.

"Come in my son." He said. The orange clad turtle walked in with care. Splinter tried to focus as hard as he could to sense an entity in the room but found none.

"You wanted to speak to me?" Mikey questioned. Splinter observed his youngests demeanor and it was nothing like how it was earlier at practice.

"Michelangelo, your brothers and I are beginning to worry about your mental state." He said flatly. Mikey quirked his head, lowering himself down on the mat in front of Splinter.

"What do you mean? Is it cuz of the blanks in my memory? Donnie says it might just like a defense mechanism or something." Mikey said with his normal upbeat attitude.

"Michelangelo, do you not remember what happened earlier at practice? How you hurt donatello and humiliated Raphael?" He asked. Mikey just stared at him for a moment, and Splinter could almost see, just a mere second, but a strange shadow passed by those crystal blue eyes of his youngest.

Splinter sat up slightly higher.

"My son, I want you to go to the astral plane." He commanded. Mikey huffed.

"You're joking? Master Splinter I'm not really good at doing all that. I dont have the focus for it." He tried to hustle his way out.

"My son, you have done it thousands of times and I am sure you can do it again. We need to have a clear view of what has been going on." He said. Mikey's demeanor suddenly changed. It was no longer light hearted but instead grew tense.

"Father I really don't want to." He admitted, keeping his head down.

"Why? What are you hiding?" He demanded. Mikey bit his lip, grabbing at his wrist in a nervous act.

"You know why you have been having these blackouts don't you MIchelangelo?" Splinter questioned. He hesitated, but Mikey nodded in agreement. "Why is this happening my son?" Mikey didn't answer.

"If-if I go to the astral plane? Will you make him go away?" He asked timidly. Splinter squinted his eyes, suddenly feeling something heavy in the air.

"Who?" he asked.

"The man that's in my head." he admitted softly. Splinter's fur stood up, feeling a strange aura surround them.

"Who is he?" Mikey shook his head aggressively.

"I can't say anymore. He'll make me black out again." He admitted. Splinter felt his own body tense, staying on alert.

"My son, go to the astral plane. I will meet you there." He told him. Mikey shook his head to agree before taking a breath to relax himself. A few more intakes of breath, and he settled his body, allowing his mind to go to the other world. The weight that was felt earlier was gone, meaning whatever it was followed Mikey to the astral plane.

"Michelangelo, can hear me?" he spoke softly.

"Yes." Simple and flat answer.

"My son what do you see?" He asked.

"Grass. There's a lot of grass." Mikey responded, eyes remained closed and him immobile.

"Are you in a meadow?" Splinter asked, moving so that he was closer to his son, nearly inches apart.

"No, its all flat. The sky is dark. There's a breeze." Mikey explained. Splinter's eyes caught the immediate twitch of his sons hand. It's almost as if it was cramping. He took note of Mikey's breathing getting quicker.

"Michelangelo what is happening?" He asked with slight urgency.

"Th-there's a fire. I-I-I don't know where it came from. I can't move." He started to ground his teeth, pepples of sweat forming on his forehead. Splinter needed to wait, he needed to see what Michelangelo was seeing.

"What else is there my son. Ignore the distractions, focus on what is harming you. Do you see it?" He asked. Mikey tried his best to calm his breathing, his head twitching from side to side as if he was looking around.

His body suddenly froze, mouth slightly open. A shiver went through his body that lead him to shake uncontrollably. It was till the nose bleed came through did Splinter begin to worry.

"Michelangelo? Michelangelo! Do you hear me?" He called out. Mikey didn't respond which meant he was out of Master Splinter's range.

Splinter immediately took his seat and calmed his mind, passing the barriers of his spirit to merge with Michelangelos to meet him in the astral plane. When he opened his mind, he was met with the grassy plane just as Mikey explained. He felt the cool breeze and saw the darkened sky.

"Michelangelo!" He called, as he looked in every direction.

"Et Venit, Et venit, Et venit.."

It repeated in the air. Splinter held his hand vertically to his chest and took breaths.

"I feel you demon, I feel your presence in this world." He spoke allowed.

 _"Hahahahaha..._ " Manic laughing could be heard.

"Om Benza Wiki Bitana Soha." Splinter repeated the ancient mantra of buddha, in attempt to wear off this presence.

 _"Et Venit...Et Venit.."_ it continue to repeat, ignoring the prayers that Splinter was speaking.

"You say he has come, an ancient tongue you have. You are not of this this world." He spoke aloud. Heat hit the back of his neck, as he turned he could see the plane had caught aflame and a figure standing in front of it. It looked to be of a man, dressed in a black suit with an odd black top hat.

"Who are you? You are not the host you are just a messenger. What business do you have with my son?" He demanded, keeping his hand close to his chest. the man started to turn, jerky movements as if he was a puppet. He faced Splinter, head still down but could see his complexion was not that of human.

"What are you?" He demanded. He heard the laughing fill his ears once more as he watched the tall black suited man look up at him. Splinter froze in place, all color leaving him, turning his fur white. The man smiled at him with an oversized mouth, teeth as bright as snow. His eyes gorged out, deep black sockets staring deeply into Splinters very being.

"What?..." He was unable to finish his sentence, as the monster opened its mouth to screech so loud Splinter almost went deaf. He didn't have to think as the flames that burned the planes came to him at full force, devouring him whole.

* * *

Splinter was left immobile, soul left in the astral plane to burn in the flames. His body went slack as he fell to the side. He watched as Mikey's body stayed in place, staring forward like an excellent student, unnerved by the continuous blood dripping from his nostril. Splinter struggled but was able to move his eyes to look and see the emptiness in his sons. He has now become a hollow shell, what some might call, a vessel. And Splinter just helped to speed up the process.

* * *

 _ **A/N: I mean, Splinter tried to help! But it looks like it just wasnt enough :/ till next time!**_

 _ **-F**_


	8. Mistake

Mistake

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Michelangelo sat at the dinner table, staring blankly at the toast and egg that had been laid out in front of him. It has been a little over a day since Master Splinter's soul had been lost within the astral plane. Though to his brothers, their father had experienced a stroke. Now, Master Splinter was laid up at Aprils apartment so he can receive more adequate care than if he were to stay in the lair. Mikey claimed no memory, no intention of hurting their master and most importantly, gave no hints that Master Splinter could be saved.

Instead, he sat there looking down at a meal he was not interested in eating, canceling out any noise around him as his brothers scurried around the kitchen for supplies and items to bring to their father.

"Mikey eat up already we gotta go." Donnie mentioned, grabbing Master Splinter's favorite tea.

"I don't wanna go." He mumbled, falling deaf on Donnies ears.

"Jesus Donnie, don't carry it all ya'rself. Come on Mikey get up." Raph said coming up to help Donnie carry come of the boxes of tea.

"I don't wanna go." Mikey said a little louder, barely registering to either of his brothers.

"Come on guys we need to start moving before the sun rises." Leo called out. Donnie and Raph filed out in a timely order but the youngest refused to move from his seat.

"Mikey Lets go." Leo said with a stern tone.

"I said no." He responded, not moving from his stare of his untouched breakfast.

"Mikey I'm not going to argue were moving out, now." Leo responded. Mikey slammed his fist to the table, tumbling over the fork to the ground and twisted to face his eldest brother.  
"I am not going!" He hollered, making Donnie and Raph stand in their tracks. For a moment, it was silent between the eldest and the youngest, a stare down for the ages. Leonardo didn't have the patience for dealing with Mikey's violent outbursts today.

"Fine, stay in the lair and don't leave for any reason." He demanded as he turned to lead his two other brothers out of the lair. Mikey watched as they left their home in a scurry and turned to continue watching his meal go cold.

* * *

Leo lead Donnie and Raph down the shortest junction to April's apartment. Donnie couldn't help but keep looking back at their home, feeling some unease leaving Mikey there alone.

"Leo, you sure it was a good idea to have Mikey by himself?" Donnie asked, trying to keep up with his leader who was walking faster than normal.

"If he wants to throw a fit like a child let him. We need to attend to our master." Once again Donnie was noticing the strange behavior of their eldest. He was recently more short tempered and sharper in his tone than usual. Donnie slowed back down to contemplate the strange phenomenons happening in their family. He looked behind him to see Raph was falling behind slightly. His head was down and a scowl plastered on his face.

Raphael couldn't help the crawling feeling creeping down his neck. That thing did something to their master, it was that thing that has taken the form of Mikey and its that thing that was making him lose his mind. He couldn't stop feeling guilty. He was the one that told Master Splinter to try and figure out what was happening to Mikey and now their father was a vegetable. He growled to himself, catching the attention of Donnie. Before the purple banded turtle could speak, Raph's shell cell began to ring.

He jumped slightly at the noise and quickly answered without looking.

"Yeah?" He said with slight irritability.

" _Yo, Raph its Case I was just about to head to the airport but I forgot I got them parts for ya_." Raph sighed. He completely forgot about a month ago he asked Casey to pick him up some parts for his bike, but he was so caught up with everything that was happening with his family he had forgotten to hit Casey back up to get the parts. Now Casey was on his way out to Alaska to do a job for his uncle and had to get them now.

"Hey Case, sorry bro its be a little crazy." He stopped walking, causing Leo and Donnie to wait and listen.

" _Ah no problem bro'. I saw Master Splinter yesterday. That shits crazy_." Casey said.

"Yeah." Raph responded, feeling slightly uncomfortable. He heard a cough on the other end.

" _Well I'm about 10 minutes from the lair. Can I drop it off real quick?_ " He asked.

"We're actually on our way to April's were about 5 minutes out." Raph explained.

" _Shit, okay. Well I know how to get in I'll just drop it off and take off. Don't really feel like bringing it on the plane with me."_ A surge of panic went through Raph.

"No!" He yelled. "Uh, Mikey's there and he aint feeling so good. You know, mutant flu or something." He cleared his throat.

"Just leave it in the garage and I'll grab in when we get back. Just, don't go in the lair." He warned.

" _Alright, that aint weird or anything. That's fine I'll put it in the garage on the workbench. See ya in a month._ " Casey said as he hung up the phone. Raph pulled it away from his head and sighed in relief. He looked up to see Leo and Donnie staring at him and could sense the same thing, everyone should keep a safe distance from their youngest brother.

* * *

Casey drove up on his motorcycle to the front of the turtles garage. He opened it with his personal clicker and went inside. He turned on the lights, singing a light tune to himself as he walked deeper into the garage to the work bench. He stood there and thought about it for a moment and decided it would be best if he would bring the stuff inside. These parts were pretty expensive and didn't want someone to break in and take them. And besides, he wanted to check up on the little ball of energy. He was kept up on the strange antics of the turtle family through April and was slightly concerned about Mikey. His friendly nature made it so that instead of stopping the garage, he went straight to the elevator and headed down into the lair.

The elevator alerted him that he made it to the lair and when the door opened, it was deadly quiet. He stepped out to see most of the lights were off except for the kitchen and Donnie's lab.

"Hello?" He called out. He went into the living room and placed the bag on the coffee table.

"Yo, Mikey you in here?" He called out again but gained no response. He walked in the kitchen to see nothing except a plate of toast and egg untouched. Casey huffed, thinking Mikey was really sick and probably was in bed. He turned to head out of the kitchen and jumped, seeing Mikey at the main entrance to the lair.

"Damn Mikey, ya' know I always forget how sneaky yous' ninjas are." He said with a laugh. Mikey was standing in the shadows, his lower body illuminated by the light from the kitchen, a eerie aura coming off of the youngest turtle.

"What are you doing here Casey?" He asked with a mellow tone.

"Oh I'm on my way to the airport and just dropped some parts off for Raph then I'm heading out. Just wanted to check up on ya, your bros said you weren't feeling too good."

"Oh? Is that what they said?" Mikey said, unmoving from his position.

"Yeah, said you was under the weather." Casey was starting to feel uneasy. There was something off about Mikey, more than a flu.

"Well kid, I gotta get going. I'll see ya' when I get back." Casey went to wave himself off but Mikey stopped him.

"Can you help me with something before you leave?" Mikey asked. "I'm not feeling good and I lost one of Klunks toys. It would really mean a lot." Casey was slightly thrown off about Mikey's demeanor. He would never ask for help over something so minuscule. April did tell him before that there had been something strange going on with the turtles and he tried to keep up as much as he could since he was busy with some of the odd jobs he had been doing around the city. So maybe Mikey really wasn't feeling all that well.

"Yeah sure bro, where at?" He asked. Mikey didn't respond. Instead he opened up the main lair door to the sewers and walked out. Casey sat there for a moment, slightly dumbfounded as to what he should do. Nature told him to follow, but his gut was telling him to run. With a short breath, he hesitant followed the young mutant out into the sewers.

"So uh, what exactly are we getting? Didn't think Klunk came out here ever in the first place." Casey tried to start conversation. Mikey didn't respond, instead he kept walking, making quick turns whenever he could. It was a left, then a right, then another left. Casey was having a hard time keeping up with the quick turtle and considering how dark it was, he was shocked he could still pick up on his outline. But he spoke too soon as the next quick left made it so that Casey lost sight of Michelangelo all together.

"Shit, Mikey where ya' at!?" He called out, rushing his pace.

Left.

Another left.

right .

Left again.

The tunnels felt they were never ending trying to find Mikey. Casey very rarely went down into the sewers and this is exactly why. He had no idea where he was going.

"Mikey! Come on bro I ain't playing!" Casey yelled, gaining his echo in response. He stood there in silence, listening to the rushing of water and realized he was close to the central junction. There was a man hole he could climb up to figure out where he was. He followed the flow of water till it started to get louder and louder.

" _Casey_." He turned quickly hearing the sound of his name above a whisper.

"Mikey?" He called, once again receiving no response.

"Fuck this shit." He mumbled to himself as he started to run towards the rushing water. He couldn't help but to feel eyes were on him as he ran.

He felt the change in ground from concrete to metal and realized he was getting close. A shrill of excitement filled him as he was able to briefly make out the outline of the ladder leading up to the surface, not paying attention to the large pool of water below him where the rest of the tunnels met.

As quickly as he could he snatched the end of the ladder and swinged to hook his foot in and start climbing up. He was about half way up when a sound of a snap caught his attention. He looked down to see a figure below him. It was too dark to see who it was exactly but whoever they were was directly below him. There was no words between he and the figure, the only noise that was audible was the rushing water under them. Casey could feel his heart pounding in his throat. He wasn't known for being scared. Hell, he's the knucklehead that faces danger head on. But this, this is something else all together. He quickly pulled out his hockey stick and pointed it at the figure below him.

"Alright fucker, I don't know who ya think ya' are but I ain't playing your' halloween bullshit!" He hollered. The figure didn't move. It just stood there, head down. Casey was only able to see the figure's pearly white teeth as its mouth was stretched out in a sinister grin. Casey could feel the sweat dripping down the back of his neck. This was too much, he didn't sign up for this.

" _Casey_." A whisper came from above.

He whipped around to look up to see Mikey was sprawled out at the top of the steps, almost like a spider in a web looking down at his with wide eyes. His mouth stretched out unnaturally wide.

"Thanks for the help." He spoke in a broken, eerie voice. Casey couldn't move, he couldn't react as Mikey lunged at him. His screams drowned out by the raging waters from below.

* * *

Donatello filled the cup with some hot water then placed one of the tea packets, allowing it to sit and disperse in the cup. He quickly blew on it to cool it and took it over to his master who was sitting up in the chair, eyes glazed over and staring down at the floor.

"Here, Master Splinter, your favorite." Donnie offer placing it on the arm rest next to his master. Splinter didn't move for it, mostly because he was unable to. Donnie's eyes grew sad. He looked over to see Raph sitting by the window and Leo at the table with April. April kept looking down at her phone, concerned about the fact she still hasn't received a text from Casey letting her know he made it to the airport. She was already put on edge especially after the boys brought in their half dead master to her home, her world has been restricted and in all honesty, her friends made her anxious.

She glanced up to her friend in blue, to see he simply was eyes down at his cup of tea, which he hasn't touched.

"Leo are you alright?" She asked, catching the attention of Raph and a side glance from Donnie. Leo picked up immediately, as if on cue.

"Sorry April." He responded. "Just sorting out my thoughts. So much has happened in such a short amount of time. I'm afraid to admit I might not know how to fix this." He said solemnly. April smiled softly.

"I understand Leo. I can't imagine what you all are going through. But we'll get through this together." She tried to lighten the mood. Raphael huffed and crossed his arms.

"Ain't nothing gonna get fixed till we figure out what the fuck is happening." He snapped, gaining no uprise from Leonardo, which Donnie took a mental note of. Raphael narrowed his eyes. "This is all my fault. I told Masta' Splinter to talk to Mikey now look what happened?"

"You dont think Mikey had something to do with it?" April asked.

"Don't know. Mikey don't remember a thing per usual." Raph said with some snark. "And can't exactly asked Splinter since he ain't got the means to talk."

"Raph." Donnie threatened, getting up from where he was kneeling.

"What? Sorry if I'm the only one who seems to be paranoid about this shit. We're stuck and nobody seems to have an answer!" He hollered.

"Raphael that's enough." leo spoke up in an even tone. "Yelling and screaming isn't gonna solve anything."

"Jesus Leo thought it was Donnie who was supposed to be the pacifist. Haven't heard a fucking opinion out of ye'r mouth since this whole thing fucking started."

"I don't like to jump to conclusions when I don't have all the facts." Leo said.

"We ain't ever gonna get all the facts Leo! We know nothing about anything going on! Donnie hasn't been able to find a thing on that cult and Mikey sure as hell can't tell us what the fuck is in his brain and I'm losing my shit to the point where I don't even know what's real anymore!" Raphael could feel the strain on his body from the his anxious outbursts and sleepless nights. This really was becoming too much.

"Well, I can talk to my pastor at the church. Father Mathew did a study on local cults a few years back. He might have some insight on that group you guys encountered." She explained.

"That can be useful actually April." Donnie said, subconsciously putting himself between Leo and Raph before a fight broke out. "Any information would really help at this point."

"Of course." She said with a smile. Leo was about to say something before he looked to see that the sun was about to rise.

"We gotta go guys. Sun's coming up." He started to maneuver towards the window, waving April goodbye on his way out. Donnie watched his eldest brother carefully and took another mental note that Leonardo didn't say goodbye to their Master.

* * *

Donnie opened the door to the lair and walked in followed by Leo and Raph. The Lair was quiet except for the blasting tv from the living room. Raphs skin crawled as it sounded all too normal for them to come home to their youngest mindlessly watching a show.

"Mikey?" Leo called.

"Hey guys!" Mikey popped his head out from the kitchen to show he had a mixing bowl in hand and what looked to be chocolate.

"What are you doing?" Donnie asked.

"Well, I felt kinda bad for snapping this morning and not coming along to Aprils. So I made you guys a nice meal since its been a while since the last time I cooked." Mikey explained with a smile as he lead his brothers to the kitchen to show the array of veggies, meats, and deserts he had laid out for them.

"Mikey this is wonderful. Thank you." Leo said patting his brother on the shoulder.

"Yeah thanks Mikey. Really nice of you." Donnie said following Leo into the kitchen to take a seat. Raphael didn't move towards the kitchen. Instead, he skimmed the living room and he felt his heart sink. On table of the black bag Casey came to deliver. He felt anxious considering that he told Casey to leave it upstairs.

"Mikey." He called out, immediately feeling his lips go dry.

"Yeah?" Mikey responded. Raph didn't take his eyes off of the bag.

"Did Casey drop that bag off?" he asked.

"Oh yeah. He called me and told me he left it upstairs so I grabbed it. Said there was some expensive stuff in there." He explained short and sweet.

"You didn't see him?" Raph asked.

"Hmm, nope don't believe so." Mikey said in a wistful tune, making Raphael shiver. He couldn't help but to feel a sinking feeling looking at the bag and feeling like something was wrong. Donnie was able to get him out of his faze and in the kitchen to eat. The food was mediocre and the conversations rehearsed. All seemed to be their version of normal, till they got the call saying Casey never made it to his flight.


	9. Pray

Pray

.

.

.

All that could be heard throughout the lair was the dropping of the sewer water in the distance. The three eldest brothers met at the front, using their ninja skills to be as discrete and possible to not disturb the youngest from his slumber. April was able to set up a meeting with Father Mathew at the church to discuss what he might know about the mysterious cult. Unfortunately, April was not going to join them.

Earlier in the day the hunt for Casey was still going. They found his motorcycle at the bottom of the Hudson river but no sign of the hot headed hockey player. The turtles made it clear not to mention that Casey had stopped by the Lair before his trip to the airport simply because they had a funny feeling Mikey had something to do with the disappearance. April would be with the police for the rest of the time till Casey was located and the brothers didnt want to drag her into this mess as well. The priest agreed to meet them after hours and was alerted by April. They were concerned of the priests reaction to their apperance but April told them not to fret.

They didn't dare bring the youngest along with them because for one, they weren't sure if he would even come and if there was an outside source manipulating the family, they didnt want to alert it through Mikey. It was best to keep this quiet and quick as they possibly could. With a fast pace, they left the sewers and headed straight for the surface.

Donnie lead the way, keeping his tracker out to lead them to the church. He looked back as they hopped from one roof to the other, keeping mental notes of his brothers. Raphael looked anxious and on the edge. He wanted this done and over with which was understandable since he was the one who was most affected. He kept note of Leo. He didn't say much when they left. No real plan with this, just tagging along for the ride which he found slightly uncomfortable but pushed it to the back of his mind. Right now he focused on information he needed to solve this problem. Thats all he cared about.

He heard his tracker beep, alerting them tthey had arrived at the church. With stealth, they made there way into the church and found themselves in the middle of the chambers. The church was large by the vaulted ceilings and lit by candle light. The brothers moved slowly, not wanting to catch any unwanted attention. They were comforted by April that only the Priest would be here this evening but they still kept their guard up.

They all flinched at the sound of a door cracking open and quickly took to the shadows. They watched as a older man walked out from the back behind the podium and towards the table of candles and sage. He was humming to himself a simple tune. The turtles immediatly figured out this was Father Mathew. The elder stood up tall and spoke up high.

"You must be the guest April spoke about. Don't be shy, I don't bite." He said. Donnie looked at Leo who gave a nod of approval to drop down from where they were hidden to greet the old pastor. They still kept to the shadows as much as they could.

"Father Mathew?" Leo asked. The man turned to the sound of Leonardo's voice. Donnie observed the old man and noticed the clear film over the elder's eyes. Donnie felt his tension release.

"You're blind." He blurted out.

"Yes, only slightly though. I only see shades of light and shadows. I see you standing there, but I can't determine what you look like." He spoke. All three of the brothers took a breath of air. The elder smiled. "April tells me you boys are looking for assistance what can I help you with today?"

"We were hoping maybe you can give us more information about a cult running around the city." Donnie said.

"Luckily enough Before I went blind I did a study on most groups in the city that did not speak the word of god. Do you have any idea who you are dealing with?" He asked.

"We're not sure, we had a run-in with them not too long ago and they had something to do with the church that burned down that one over on 12th street." The priest took a moment and remember hearing of the church being brought to the ground in the way that it did.

"Follow me." The man turned, and with memory alone was able to lead the turtles into the back where his office was. Father Mathew felt across the room till he reached his desk.

"Why do you feel you are dealing with an unholy group?" He asked. Donnie bit his lip and looked over to Raph and Leo which both kept silent. Odd.

"We interuppted what looked to be a ceremony of some kind." He started. "Our brother Mikey, he is somehow affected by it. He was trying to rescue a child that was apart of it and he bit him. He hasn't been the same since." He explained.

"I see." Mathews said. "Anything about this group you remember?"

"Nothing too noticable." Donnie said. "The only thing that I would consider strange would be that the members of this group refer to him as a vessel." That seemed to have caught the priests attention.

"Vessel?" He asked.

"Yeah. Do you know what theyre referring to?" The priest moved to his book shelf, feeling against the spines recognizing the feel of each book. He pulled back a grey book with no cover. He placed it on the desk.

"Turn it to page 326." He told Donatello. He obliged, flipping through the photos till the photo of a blurred man in a top hat appeared.

"What is it?" he asked.

"You boys have encountered the group known as the White Fang. They are a small group here, probably why you weren't able to find them in whatever database you were trying to find them in. They are not well known here in the United States. They were originally from France, went under the name Les Enfants Voleurs." The priest said.

"The fuck does that mean?" Raph asked.

"The children snatchers." The priest explained. This left a bad taste in Raph's mouth.

"They take children? For what?" Donnie asked.

"For the reason they speak of, they are looking for a vessel."

"Sir, please who are these people?" Donnie asked. He glanced over at Leo and noticed how eerie silent he was.

"The White Fang is an old group, a strange mixture of satanic practice and Wiccan. A spite against god in all shapes. They appeared during the French Reveutionary war, claiming that their savior is what damned the king. The children in Paris were starting to disappear in large numbers. Each being used as an attempt to animate the being they felt was the reason for France's Fall. Children were used as vessels because of the innocence that they hold. Clean of all sin from society and that of being human. Tell me, how old is your brother?" He asked.

"He's 15." Donnie said. The priest creased his eye brows.

"Slightly older than most. Tell me, is he younger mentally speaking?"

"Ya mean if he acts like a 10 year old normally ya." Raph said.

"I see. Is he free of sin?" he asked.

"Excuse me?" Donnie asked. "Uh, sorry were not all that familiar with the bibles definition of Sin."

"He has never harmed another creature, gone against the old testament?" The priest hinted at.

"If you're asking if he's killed or had sex or whatever the book tells ya not to do then no he's pretty squeaky clean." Raph said annoyingly. The priest was silent for a moment, taking in Raphael's tone.

"Boy, you've seen this creature haven't you?" Father Mathew pointed out, making Raph go quiet.

"Yeah, more than I would like to." He admitted. "Fuckers called me a connection, whatever the hell that means." Donnie could see how uncomfortable Raph was talking about the thing that's been watching him. He wasn't surprised considering how frustrated his younger brother was at the fact only he was able to see it.

"Ah, you are closer in age to your brother then?" The Priest said.

"Yea."

"But not free of sin?" He asked. Raph bit his lip.

"No. I've busted a couple of skulls in self defense." He said as if trying to defend himself from being claimed as a murderer.

"A connection is the link between the vessel and this world. Usually ends up being a family member or someone close to the vessel. Keeping bonds secure for the arrival." The priest explained.

"But I don't get it." Donnie mentioned. "This whole process they're doing, it doesn't explain Mikey's behavior."

"There is a specific set of rules that the vessel must abide by before being chosen. More like, forced into." The priest began. "They start by being starved, unable to feed themselves and can only eat the offering."

"The offering?" Donnie asked,reclaiming his memory of Michelangelo's inability to eat then was suddenly cured.

"Normally that of a pig's heart. Once the vessel has agreed to those terms, they are enlightened by the idea they are helping a lone spirit. At that point, they have welcomed in their carrier."

"Carrier?" Donnie asked.

"The figure that you see." The priest referring back to Raph's previous concerns. "Known as the carrier, making sure that the vessel is protected.

"That's why it must have attacked you that first night Raph." Donnie said. "And probably why it keeps torturing you."

"Could be." The Priest spoke, walking to the other end of his desk. "The carrier is known to be mischievous as it begins its process of removal."

"Removal?" Raph asked.

"Removing the soul from the body. This process normally consists of memory loss, delusions, causing the child who once was, becomes no longer." Donnie came to the realization.

"To make the body that of a vessel."

"Exactly." Donnie processed all this information and realized this wasn't some poor excuse of a prank or some over dramatic pity party. This involved something bigger than any of them.

"How do you know all of this?" Leo asked, catching the attention of both Donnie and Raph considering Leo hasn't spoken this entire time.

"Oh, wasn't aware of another person in the room." The priest said half heartedly. "if you would be so kind, in the trunk there by the book shelf take out the tape labeled 'Chrissy A-13' and put it in the telly in the corner." When Leo didn't move, Donnie rushed and followed the instructions given by the elder and placed the tape in the machine and watched as it flickered to life.

It showed a family sitting at the dinner table, seemed all for the most part normal. Donnie looked closely at the little girl sitting at the end of the table.

"You were observing the process." He said out loud.

"Yes, about ten years ago when the White Fang started to appear, I took it upon myself to do an investigation on a family that came to me with a similar story to yours. I tried to help. But I was too late." he said with sorrow. Donnie watched the tape, and saw the little girls antics were similar to Michelangelo's. He looked to the corner of the tape, and saw a man standing in the doorway.

"Who's the guy in the button up?" Raph asked.

"That was David, the eldest son. He too played a role in the ceremony as the deliverer." Father Mathew said.

"The deliverer?" Donnie asked, suddenly feeling anxious as he was no longer able to feel Leo's presence behind him.

"The eldest child was left to deliver the vessel." As the priest had said that, Donnie watched on the tape as the boy named David went to each of the family members and slit their throats and snatched the little girl up and left the shot. "Once I had realized it, they were gone. I have not been able to locate Chrissy or David since."

Donnie bit the inside of his cheek and had a better understanding of Leo's role. He looked back to see his eldest brother was no longer standing in the doorway.

Panic.

"Raph-" He was cut off when he saw his blue banded brother behind the desk with his blade drawn.

"Father Matthew!" He yelled but it was too late, Leo had already made his move. Slicing his blade over the old man's neck like a stick of butter, and watched as he tried to stop the bleeding and fell to the ground.

"The fuck Leo!" Raph yelled, reaching for his sai's to defend off his deranged brother. When Leo faced him, Raph flinched to see a pale pink layer covering over his brother's eyes.

Leo's quick movements were still in tact as he launched at Raph to hit a major pressure point, causing the larger turtle to pass out. Raph fell hard to the ground, giving Donnie some time to plan an attack on his elder brother. As he came forward, Leo met Donnie's staff mid way with his katana and they were left in a stalemate. Donnie was able to get a better look of the pink film and realized quickly Leo was not in control.

"Come on Leo snap out of it! Don't let it get to you!" Leo said nothing, instead pushed hard enough to gain some distance and pull out a poison dart from his pouch, throwing it in Donnie's direction and catching into his arm.

Donnie did his best and removed the dart quickly, but he knew it wasn't quick enough. His vision began to blur as he watched as Leonardo picked up Raphael in a fireman hold.

"What are you-" Donnie couldn't finish, feeling his tongue swell and eyes water. Leo didn't even give him a second look before taking their unconscious brother out the window and leaving Donatello to pass out next to a pool of blood.


End file.
